A data center is a facility that houses computer equipment and related components. Data centers oftentimes include many server computers and auxiliary equipment such as, for instance, storage systems, network infrastructure equipment, and the like. Equipment is commonly accommodated and organized in data centers by being mounted on racks.
Rack mountable equipment for use in a data center is oftentimes designed to fit in conventional, standard equipment racks. Examples of such racks include racks that conform to standards such as Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA)-310-D, European Telecoms Standards Institute (ETSI), and so forth. Accordingly, configurations of rack mountable equipment commonly are limited by the configuration of the rack in which such equipment can be mounted. For example, a 19-inch rack that conforms to EIA-310-D can include a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting equipment that is approximately 17.75 inches wide. The equipment typically has a front panel that is approximately 19 inches wide with edges or ears that protrude in the width direction on each side such that the edges or ears allow the equipment to be fastened to the rack (e.g., with screws, clips, bolts, etc.). Pursuant to this example, the height of the equipment that is mountable in the 19-inch rack is commonly standardized to be a multiple of 1.75 inches (e.g., a rack unit).
Moreover, configuration of the equipment can be dependent on an application being run with the equipment. Accordingly, different equipment configurations with differing volumetric requirements can be used within a conventional data center. To accommodate the differing volumetric requirements for the different equipment configurations, disparate systems that fit within conventional, standard equipment racks oftentimes are employed, which can cause increased supply chain complexity.
Further, when servers are refreshed (e.g., after a few years of use), other equipment such as power supplies, fans, sheet metal, connectors, batteries, etc. is oftentimes replaced as a result of being part of the infrastructure installed in a rack with the servers or a container in which the servers are included. For instance, a typical blade system can include a chassis that mounts into a conventional, standard equipment rack. The chassis can include slides or housings into which a plurality of blades (e.g., servers) can be inserted. However, the chassis of a typical blade system oftentimes is able to couple with blades having a fixed size. Moreover, blades for a chassis of a particular manufacturer commonly differ in size from blades for a chassis of a different manufacturer. Thus, if the blades are refreshed (e.g., when upgrading after a few years, etc.), then the chassis commonly is unable to be reused and oftentimes replaced.